Winter months

C_Sherriffs

Hi guys,

I am just wondering what sort of things some of you people do over the winter months to keep fit?

I know when the nights get dark sooner, the ground gets frosty and the temperature plummets but what do you lot do to keep fit during them hard times?

I am a cycling coach and am interested in the ideas behind some peoples thoughts and practices when it comes to riding in winter as some people lose the will to live and don't touch a bike whereas others thrive and go do silly amounts of miles!

Please share your thoughts and take a look at my website: www.smartperformancecoaching.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smart.performance.coaching/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SMART__Coaching

daechambers88

I'm lucky with work so tend to be able to go riding at lunch (mixture of ride types, intervals, more constant effort or just a relaxing ride!). When the weather turns bad (rain/ice) i tend to migrate to the gym for weights/ spinning or at home abit of turbo.

I used to run abit but found that inwas prone to tweeking muscles etc (probably poor technique!!)

OnTheRopes

Well I used to be able to pick a decent circuit with street lights, there is a twice weekly chain gang that does the ride right through winter so that helps. Since moving house I dont have that luxury. Only time I dont ride is when its icy on the roads.
Than I use MTB on easy trails and stuff.
Occcasional Turbo work and sometimes use spin bikes in a gym

OnTheRopes

Just noticed this is in Beginners section, is that who the question is aimed at? The question seems to be aimed more at experienced winter training riders?

fenix

Turbo in the week and out at the weekend unless it's dangerously windy or icy.

mugensi

For the last few years I ran twice a week (Monday and Thursday evenings) no great distances, just 5km on those two evenings. I timed myself and strove to get faster each week but I sort of plateau'd around mid January and stayed at that pace/speed.

I managed the odd spin at weekends but not that often, maybe 3 or 4 cycles a month maximum with none at all during November (according to strava)

This year I bought a MTB and hope to be able to get out more during winter around the off road trails and fire roads near where I live. There is a 27km loop which has approx. 700m of climbing less than 3km from my front door so i'll probably end up doing it quite a bit and because its all off road (on gravel trails and fire roads) lack of daylight wont hold me back as I have a set of eBay CREE lights which are as good as daylight.

I'll probably go for the odd run now and then too as a 20-30min run is a quick hit when I feel the need to stretch the legs.

imposter2.0

C_Sherriffs wrote:

I am a cycling coach and am interested in the ideas behind some peoples thoughts and practices when it comes to riding in winter as some people lose the will to live and don't touch a bike whereas others thrive and go do silly amounts of miles!

Please share your thoughts and take a look at my website: http://www.smartperformancecoaching.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smart.performance.coaching/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SMART__Coaching

You're running a cycle coaching business on the back of a BC L1 qualification?

C_Sherriffs

OnTheRopes wrote:

Just noticed this is in Beginners section, is that who the question is aimed at? The question seems to be aimed more at experienced winter training riders?

Aimed at anybody out there...I just wanted to see what beginners actually did during the winter compared to the more experienced riders - after all the sport is growing in popularity and not everybody is the same!

C_Sherriffs

Imposter wrote:

C_Sherriffs wrote:

I am a cycling coach and am interested in the ideas behind some peoples thoughts and practices when it comes to riding in winter as some people lose the will to live and don't touch a bike whereas others thrive and go do silly amounts of miles!

Please share your thoughts and take a look at my website: http://www.smartperformancecoaching.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smart.performance.coaching/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SMART__Coaching

You're running a cycle coaching business on the back of a BC L1 qualification?

If you have taken the time to read through my qualifications then why have you not seen I have a degree in sports coaching?! Always somebody trying to be negative...

fat daddy

Commute ..... 2 workouts a day, of sprint intervals whilst wearing too many clothes, carrying a lights, on a heavy bike with fatter tires.

It trains, Cardio, power, core, and hones your ability to ride in adverse conditions, rain, cold, frost

Rule #9 baby ... rule #9 !!!!!!!!!!!


Oh and Zwift ... but that's so fun, you can do that in the summer as well ..... but always worth looking in to ... races from your own garage

Midlands Grimpeur

I keep to the same number of rides per week over winter and continue outdoors. The only concession I make is that weekend rides tend to be slightly shorter so I generally do 2-3 hours less per week. I don't track intensity that closely but I would say the ratio of unstructured rides to structured training is slightly higher.

imposter2.0

C_Sherriffs wrote:

Imposter wrote:

C_Sherriffs wrote:

I am a cycling coach and am interested in the ideas behind some peoples thoughts and practices when it comes to riding in winter as some people lose the will to live and don't touch a bike whereas others thrive and go do silly amounts of miles!

Please share your thoughts and take a look at my website: http://www.smartperformancecoaching.co.uk
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/smart.performance.coaching/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SMART__Coaching

You're running a cycle coaching business on the back of a BC L1 qualification?

If you have taken the time to read through my qualifications then why have you not seen I have a degree in sports coaching?! Always somebody trying to be negative...

Yeah, I saw that. I'm not being critical, it's just that all the professional cycling coaches I know of are all BC Level 3.

clickrumble

I ride about 5000miles a year, fortunately I'm retired so can choose my days, but generally carry on in the winter with same length of rides. I don't go out in heavy persistent rain, ice or strong winds, I don't do any indoor training.

guy.spartacus

I use cycling as a summer cardio work for my rugby training and playing during winter.

As the sun dissappears, the season starts - bit of an overlap but that is all good for pre-season fitness as well.

I lift weights all year round

whoof

I commute, so that part of my riding doesn't change in the winter. At weekend I still go out unless both days are raining which isn't that often.
When I raced I would do a club-run on a Sunday, which I also looked forward to and some mid-week interval sessions on the turbo, which I hated. When the spring came I'd ride with a chaingang.
I like warm sunny weather as much as the next person but I don't need motivation to ride in the winter as I like cycling.

bbrap

Being retired I'm usually out all winter (normally 11:30 ish once its brightened up a bit), only caveat is ice, then I just stay indoors, or maybe get on the rollers in the garage if the cold spell looks like it will be for more than a couple of days. I find spin bikes/turbos incredibly boring but rollers make things challenging (just staying on them is an achievement).

step83

I carry on cycling generally. Or use a mountain bike. There is no such thing as the wrong weather, only inappropriate clothing.

Gromson

I managed 12,000 outdoor road miles in 2014, and again in 2015 and am on track for 12,000 miles again this year. Some of those miles were very VERY boring and repetitive, but they were always outdoors.

Not bothered by rain, snow, hail, wind or dark. The only thing that changes from season to season is the bike (because I have a pathological need to be hyper-precious about at least one bike) and sometimes I swap the whole wheelset because I'm too lazy to change tyres on individual wheels.

Black ice and severe gales will keep me at home. I have enough different exposed or sheltered routes and loops to contend with different road and weather conditions. I live near the sea, so if my own (unsalted) road is icy, I dont go out. Other than that, it's only a bit of weather. And another underlayer.

In Geordieland we rarely get nice weather, so it's pointless waiting for some.

ForumNewbie

Gromson wrote:

I managed 12,000 outdoor road miles in 2014, and again in 2015 and am on track for 12,000 miles again this year. Some of those miles were very VERY boring and repetitive, but they were always outdoors.

Not bothered by rain, snow, hail, wind or dark. The only thing that changes from season to season is the bike (because I have a pathological need to be hyper-precious about at least one bike) and sometimes I swap the whole wheelset because I'm too lazy to change tyres on individual wheels.

Black ice and severe gales will keep me at home. I have enough different exposed or sheltered routes and loops to contend with different road and weather conditions. I live near the sea, so if my own (unsalted) road is icy, I dont go out. Other than that, it's only a bit of weather. And another underlayer.

In Geordieland we rarely get nice weather, so it's pointless waiting for some.

That's a lot of miles, averaging over 1,000 a month. Don't know how you manage it. On a good month I can only manage around 600 miles.

Gromson

ForumNewbie wrote:

That's a lot of miles, averaging over 1,000 a month. Don't know how you manage it. On a good month I can only manage around 600 miles.

I ride before work, after work and do stupidly long miles on the weekend. My lawn is six foot high and a lost tribe of pygmies was recently found living in it.

thebikeboy16

This is a good one. I am in a cycling rut also.

samsbike

I just commute and aim for a 100 miles a week. Generally its ice free but cold but as someone mentioned good clothing and warm shoes goes a long way in making it bearable.

cycleclinic

Just get out and ride. Use grippy tyres and take it easy when its wet. When icy i ride off road but even that can be dicey. For when i suspect sheet ice i have spiked mtb tyres.

For clothing i wear glove liners then winter gloves. Woolie bullies socks and northwave artic shoes, and then tights, alutura thermocool base layer, jersey and my clubs roubaix top. I do sometimes wear a jacket in top when its really cold or wet. I have worn tights, shorts and leg warmers before too.

I hate turbo's so i go ride. I ride everyday regardless of the weather. There weather is illclement 50% of the time so get used to it or buy a turbo and join the ranks on trainer road, how boring.

There is great delight to had riding at night, in the cold, in the wet and when blowing a gale. Ride in all of them at the same time and you feel good afterwards. It is not dangerous it just requires forethought and experience.

Start with buying good lights. Cateye volt300 or similar as a bare minimum and buy good gloves and silk glove liners (motor cycle shops have these). Then layer up.

I put 20hrs in a week like this or c. 300ish miles maybe more during autumn winter and spring and love every second of it. I make the time by not using my car.

voodooman

^This

Have the right clothing (tights, gloves, muff and balaclava, jacket, long sleeve ASV windslam, arm and leg warmers, night vision jacket, min 2 lights front and back, solas tape on mudguards, mtb shoes and 2 sets of overshoes) and grow to love getting to work staying relatively warm and dry.

I reckon I'm about 30% or more efficient and engaged on the 4 days I go by bike compared to the car. Does help that our work showers are amazing and with a drying room too. I find it more a state of mind than anything.

cycleclinic

Yes driving causes stress. The excerise in the mornjng makes you more alert. If everyone stopped driving to work the productivity in the economy would shoot up, people would be less stressed, obesity would fall and the u.k would be a nicer richer place. Win win.

I love riding now more thannin summer i dont think i am odd, you just adjust your state of mind. Actually the disease is people have a choice. Remove the choice i.e rev your car engine so hard that you break it and you wont have a choice. Go on do it i dare you. My car is for getting to race that are too far away for me to ride to. Thats it. I am a sunday driver litterally.

Gromson

I don't mind the seasons in the north east, where it's like Antarctica for two months and then grey and miserable for the other ten months, apart from the occasional Tuesday where we get summer for an hour. My cycling wardrobe contains ample variations of layers and coverings to contend with most conditions. I was a very late adopter of arm warmers, preferring a long sleeve jersey, but I'm slowly coming round to the idea.

Although I clearly love the summer period the most, I much prefer the really dark winter nights and mornings over autumn and spring. The reason being that every single incident with a car that I've ever had has been when the sun's low in the sky and the roads are damp and shiny. At least in the dark my Blackpool Illuminations catch the drivers' eyes in plenty of time.

My best purchase ever was my robust Foska winter jacket. It's not glamourous or sleek, but I've been out in -5C and felt toasty warm wearing it. Sealskinz winter gloves do well in very cold conditions, although not so great in wet conditions.

Secteur

I used to run, but no matter what I did, I was constantly plagued with injury. Running just doesn't work for me. However, pain and injuries aside, it made a huge positive difference to my riding ability, both because I tend to always lose weight when I'm running as opposed to just cycling, but also being very hilly the running really pushed my CV fitness and this really noticeably improved my climbing on the bike.

So, having given up running, I went part time and dropped a day mid-week to enable me to get a good ride in between the weekends.

I don't ride for "exercise" or "fitness" - I do it for happiness, peace and general well being, hence me feeling that dropping a days work was worth it, and it's been the best thing i've ever done, so much so I dropped another half day!

EDIT: sorry, I rambled and didn't really answer the OPs question - I just cycle, but I do it all year around and the colder (not necessarily wetter) winter weather isn't a barrier to me cycling - the daylight is, hence me dropping the day at work mid week so I can ride in the daylight. But seasons otherwise make no difference, indeed I tend to do more mileage in the winter months than Summer. No idea why.

bianchimoon

C_Sherriffs wrote:

I am just wondering what sort of things some of you people do over the winter months to keep fit?

errr... ride my bike of course!

Huismans

I cycle during the winter months, but I do my best to keep myself safe.

For comfort and warmth, I wear layers. I wear tight form fitting sweats on my first layer or long john like pants. Then a "fluffy" layer above that, such as pajama pants. Then poofy pants above that such as stereotypical snow pants. But not too thick. The same thing can be said of my shirt with a light jacket on top.

Then for my head, I wear a tight hoodie or a ski mask with goggles.

That's for inclement weather, though. Normally I don't need the goggles.

But I never go out if there's a winter warning, and I never go out if it's snowing or anything. I wait for the snow to end, and for roads to be plowed. And I stay on known roadways where I know there will be a lot of homes in case I need an emergency.

keef66

Like most of your responders I just keep on riding through the winter. Couple of evening rides and one or two longer ones at the weekend. If anything, riding through the poorer weather gives me more of a buzz.

Decent lights, reflectives and clothing are the key. I wouldn't go out in heavy rain if I could avoid it, and I'm always wary of conditions that could produce black ice, but beyond that I go out in virtually anything else. Windy days can be especially exhilarating if you plan the route so it finishes with a 30 mph tailwind!

ZMC888

People do skiing in temperatures down to -30c or even lower. The ONLY thing stopping anyone going outside to ride is clothing technology, unless there is ice or snow on the ground, and then you need to reassess the tyre situation. I've ridden in -20c in a dry sunny climate.

I do switch to the swimming pool for 3km 1 hour swims and sometimes go skiing if possible, so my time on the bike drops by 20-30%, but I always try to get 1250kms and 8000m vert on the bike each month, minimum.